Can you help me identify what these bantams are please?

[kgast11]

Certain breeds have their combs "dubbed" (start with a single comb and cut off most of it.) That is traditional for males of various kinds of gamefowl and for non-game breeds descended from them (example, Old English Game Bantams.) Some people in severe climates do it as an anti-frostbite measure for other breeds as well.

I have never heard of cutting the comb to make it look rose or pea. I would not expect it to work very well, given the surface texture that a rose comb and a pea comb usually have, as compared with how smooth a dubbed comb tends to be, but I don't know for sure.


That part is true. If you breed single comb x single comb, all chicks will have single combs. Specific genes are required to get any other comb types, and if the breed does not have those genes, you will never get the other combs.

Rose comb is caused by a dominant gene, and pea comb by a different dominant gene. A chicken with both rose and pea genes has another kind of comb, called "walnut" by people studying genetics. People writing descriptions of chicken breeds call it "cushion" or "strawberry" or maybe other names as well.

It is fairly common for chickens with rose combs to carry the not-rose gene, so a flock will sometimes produce some chicks with single combs even when all the parents show rose combs. This sort-of happens with pea combs as well, but is less common because one vs. two pea comb genes will make the comb look a bit different, so it is easier to weed them out.


If he called them game chickens, that might be what they are. Maybe he can tell you more about them, and he might know if there is anyone else breeding the same kind.


To a large extent, chickens are chickens, and they all need the same kind of care. There are only a few kinds that need special care. If yours are actually game chickens, you might need to house males separately after they reach a certain stage of maturity.

Most chickens can have multiple young males grow up together, and multiple adult males live together in a flock with hens or without hens, assuming they have enough space. But with actual game chickens, males will fight and kill each other unless you keep them in separate pens. Normal roosters will fight a bit and consider the matter settled, usually without major injuries. Or they will spread apart in a big pen or on free range, so each one has his own personal space and they don't bother to fight. But game roosters will fight to the point of death. Some chickens have "game" in the name without having that behavior (example: Old English Game Bantams), so the name alone is not going to be enough to figure that out.

Other chickens that require different care include:
--weird feathers (Silkie, frizzles, longtails)
--Cornish Cross meat chickens (enormous appetite, fast growth causes health issues)
None of those apply to the birds in your photos.

Unfortunately, I think the gentleman said that he was struggling with dementia & that’s why he just referred to them as game chickens. He said that he couldn’t remember what kind they actually were. He was very upfront and apologetic when I was asking him about the chickens though. The little rooster is pretty docile though & I’m slowly gaining their trust. He greets me when I enter the pen and I can work around him. He just doesn’t want me to touch him. The hens are both fairly skiddish, but the younger hen is more used to me than the older one though because she hatched at home. They are both only just now starting to eat from my hand as opposed to running away when I enter the pen. On a slightly different note, do you happen to know where I could come up with some nice splash rosecombs? I would rather have chicks or hatching eggs, but I’m not sure where to get them. Also, I’m not planning on running them together with my existing bantams, but I do like the rosecombs a lot. All bantams are adorable, & they have some competition from other bantam breeds (Dutch, serama, Millies, & Japanese to name a few), but So far rosecombs are still my favorite.

 

[NatJ]

Unfortunately, I think the gentleman said that he was struggling with dementia & that’s why he just referred to them as game chickens. He said that he couldn’t remember what kind they actually were. He was very upfront and apologetic when I was asking him about the chickens though.

That's unfortunate, but I see why you can't learn more from him.

The little rooster is pretty docile though

I have read that gamefowl roosters are usually docile with humans, but aggressive with other roosters. I have no personal experience, but I've seen this repeated often enough to stick in my memory (although I know that does not prove anything about whether it is correct!)

On a slightly different note, do you happen to know where I could come up with some nice splash rosecombs? I would rather have chicks or hatching eggs, but I’m not sure where to get them.

I don't know about private breeders.

I remember seeing them listed at Cackle Hatchery, but right now they are showing out of stock:
https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/splash-rosecomb-bantam/
I can't say whether they will have them again in the spring or not.

If you find blue rosecombs, you can breed them together and get some splash chicks. Two blues will produce chicks in a ratio of about 1/4 black, 1/2 blue, 1/4 splash. Once you have some splash birds, you can breed them together to get more splashes. Or you can breed blue x splash to get about a 50/50 mix of blue chicks and splash chicks. Splash x black will give just blue chicks, which is great for people who like blues, but not useful if you want splashes!

 

[kgast11]

That's unfortunate, but I see why you can't learn more from him.


I have read that gamefowl roosters are usually docile with humans, but aggressive with other roosters. I have no personal experience, but I've seen this repeated often enough to stick in my memory (although I know that does not prove anything about whether it is correct!)


I don't know about private breeders.

I remember seeing them listed at Cackle Hatchery, but right now they are showing out of stock:
https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/splash-rosecomb-bantam/
I can't say whether they will have them again in the spring or not.

If you find blue rosecombs, you can breed them together and get some splash chicks. Two blues will produce chicks in a ratio of about 1/4 black, 1/2 blue, 1/4 splash. Once you have some splash birds, you can breed them together to get more splashes. Or you can breed blue x splash to get about a 50/50 mix of blue chicks and splash chicks. Splash x black will give just blue chicks, which is great for people who like blues, but not useful if you want splashes!

Okay, thank you. I will look into it & keep an eye out. Think I’m probably going to do some more research too while I look around. It seems to me that there’s a lot more to learn about bantams than I originally thought. The ones I have are being thoroughly spoiled, but I’m definitely going to need some more room in the near(ish) future because I intend to hatch some more eggs and I want to get the splash rosecombs when they become available again. I don’t want to mix my flocks though, especially the Roos. I don’t want them to be hurt. I wonder if breeding two blue chickens of any other breed would yield the same results as breeding two blue rosecombs though. I know the same concept applies to blue slate turkeys. I have some of those too. 1 black hen, 2 blue slate hens, and a blue splash Tom.

 

[NatJ]

I wonder if breeding two blue chickens of any other breed would yield the same results as breeding two blue rosecombs though.

Yes, the blue gene works the same way in any chicken breed. It doesn't matter if two blue chickens are the same breed or not. It doesn't even matter if they are blue all over or just in places. For example, Blue Laced Red chickens have blue edges (lacing) on red feathers. If you breed two of them together, you get some chicks with black lacing, some with blue lacing, and some with splash lacing. Or you can mix Blue Laced Red with a chicken that is blue all over, or any other combination, and the blue part still behaves the same way: blue x blue gives about 1/4 black, 1/2 blue, 1/4 splash.

There is a color variety called "self blue" in some breeds, that is caused by the lavender gene diluting black to a light gray color. The lavender gene behaves differently than the blue gene (Lavender is recessive, blue is an incomplete dominant. Lavender dilutes both black and red, blue dilutes black and has little or no effect on red.)

 

[kgast11]

Yes, the blue gene works the same way in any chicken breed. It doesn't matter if two blue chickens are the same breed or not. It doesn't even matter if they are blue all over or just in places. For example, Blue Laced Red chickens have blue edges (lacing) on red feathers. If you breed two of them together, you get some chicks with black lacing, some with blue lacing, and some with splash lacing. Or you can mix Blue Laced Red with a chicken that is blue all over, or any other combination, and the blue part still behaves the same way: blue x blue gives about 1/4 black, 1/2 blue, 1/4 splash.

There is a color variety called "self blue" in some breeds, that is caused by the lavender gene diluting black to a light gray color. The lavender gene behaves differently than the blue gene (Lavender is recessive, blue is an incomplete dominant. Lavender dilutes both black and red, blue dilutes black and has little or no effect on red.)

Cool! I wondered why some were just “blue” and some were called “self blue”.

 

[NatJ]

Cool! I wondered why some were just “blue” and some were called “self blue”.

At one point, the best-known blues were Blue Andalusians, who have a darker edge (lacing) on each blue feather.

The lavender gene tends to make a chicken that is an even shade all over, without darker and lighter bits. So it got called "self" blue, to distinguish it from "laced" blue. ("Self" meaning a solid-colored chicken of whatever color is being discussed.)

Once people figured out there were different genes involved, one got named "lavender," but the older name hung around. "Self Blue" is still the official name for that color in some breeds of chickens. To avoid confusion, the blue gene sometimes gets called Andalusian Blue or BBS (for Black Blue Splash, because those are the colors produced when working with the blue gene.)

And sometimes people will be talking about the "blue" gene that colors eggshells rather than feathers. There are too many kinds of "blue" in chickens!